Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Chicken And Rice Casserole is creamy cheesy comfort food made with chicken, broccoli, rice and cheese, but made in the Instant Pot for a quick and easy one-pot meal.
INSTANT POT BROCCOLI CHEESE CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
This recipe is perfect when you want delicious cheesy comfort food …. fast! Broccoli Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole or Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole is one of the most popular comfort foods, making it family friendly. For a high protein, whole grain version of this comfort food, it can be found at Chicken Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole on this website.
The difference between this Broccoli Cheese Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe and other traditional recipes is that this one is pressure cooked in an Instant Pot pressure cooker making it a one-pot meal that is ready in under 30 minutes! It is now one of my favorite Instant Pot Recipes.
There are so many things to love about this recipe.
Comfort Food. It is creamy and cheesy with amazing flavor! It is pure comfort food that feels like you receive a big hug when you eat it.
Flavor. This Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is similar to the traditional but includes Worcestershire and Ranch Seasoning Mix to add additional flavor.
Family friendly. It is traditionally a very popular casserole that the whole family can enjoy.
No Canned Soups. It has NO CANNED SOUPS making it a little more wholesome.
Quick and Easy. It is quick and easy to make in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker, in which it will be ready in under 30 minutes.
Easy Clean Up. It makes for fast and easy clean up since there is only one pot to wash.
Use Leftover Chicken or Turkey. This is a great recipe to use leftovers. At Thanksgiving, it is a great way to use up leftover turkey.
Ingredients:
Add BEFORE Pressure Cooking
2 Tablespoons oil
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (See Note Below)
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 packet ranch seasoning mix
1-1/2 cups white rice (See Note Below)
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
Add AFTER Pressure Cooking
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups frozen broccoli (See Note Below)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions:
Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot. Wait until the front of the Instant Pot says “Hot,” then add oil.
When oil is hot, add the chicken breast cubes and chopped onion. Cook until the chicken is mostly white instead of pink and the onion is softened, about 3 – 4 minutes.
Then add a tablespoon of minced garlic and cook for about a minute.
Add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce. Deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula to remove any food particles to prevent them from scorching.
Add the uncooked white rice, and salt, pepper, and ranch seasoning mix. Do not stir.
Press cancel to stop the sauté function. Secure the lid. Move the pressure valve to the sealing position. Press the pressure cook button or manual cook button, select high pressure, and adjust the time to pressure cook for 5 minutes. (It will take about 8 – 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure before the pressure cooking starts.)
While the Chicken and Rice are cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the milk and flour to make a slurry. Set aside until after the chicken and rice have finished pressure cooking.
While the chicken and rice are cooking, run hot water over the frozen broccoli to thaw. Drain the broccoli.
After the Instant Pot has finished the pressure cooking cycle, let it release pressure naturally for 10 minutes and then, using a long-handled spoon move the pressure valve to the venting position, to do a quick release of pressure. Wait for the pin to drop. Then carefully, remove the lid.
Immediately pour the milk and flour slurry into the chicken and rice mixture and stir.
Add the thawed broccoli to the chicken and rice.
Add the shredded cheese to the Broccoli Cheese Chicken And Rice Casserole.
Stir everything together until it is well combined and the broccoli and cheese have been evenly distributed throughout the chicken and rice mixture.
Notes:
Use either chicken breasts or chicken thighs as long as they are boneless and skinless and cut into cubes.
I recommend rinsing the rice before adding to the Instant Pot. I have experienced better results with the texture of the rice when I have done that.
To use brown rice instead of white rice, increase time to 8 minutes and increase water by 1/4 cup for each 1 cup of brown rice.
I used frozen broccoli. Before adding the broccoli to the casserole, rinse the broccoli in hot water to thaw.
Don’t add broccoli at the same time as the chicken it will overcook.
Add broccoli only after the chicken and rice have finished cooking. The heat of the chicken and rice mixture will heat the broccoli and melt the cheese.
To avoid getting the “Burn” message, be sure to deglaze the pot after browning the chicken and cooking the garlic by adding the liquid and scraping the bottom of the pot to remove any food particles that might scorch. Secondly, do not stir the rice and other ingredients. Add the ingredients in the order specified but do not stir. This will also help to prevent receiving the Burn notice.
Source:https://flavormosaic.com/instant-pot-broccoli-cheese-chicken-and-rice-casserole/
